Mitchell (South Dakota)

Mitchell is a city in Southeast South Dakota on Interstate 90 about 75 miles (121 km) west of Sioux Falls. Mitchell is located in the heart of South Dakota, with rich rolling farmland leading into wide open prairies.

Understand

Named South Dakota's 2011 Community of the Year, the town has a population of almost 16,000 residents in 2020, unique Main Street shopping, and a wide selection of services, entertainment, hunting, fishing, golf and camping opportunities.

Home to the World's Only Corn Palace, a structure known for attracting the unusual, the notable, and the road-weary. Topped with a whimsical mix of onion domes and minarets, the Corn Palace appears as if drawn straight from a storybook.

Get in

By car

The main route to Mitchell by car or motorcoach is Interstate 90. Coming from the east, we are 78 miles from the SD/MN border or 67 miles west of South Dakota's largest city, Sioux Falls, on I-90. From the west, we are located 270 miles from Rapid City and the Black Hills on Interstate 90. You can also get to Mitchell using north-south Highway 37 or Highway 38 from Sioux Falls in the east. For traveler information or road conditions on South Dakota's Highways you can visit the South Dakota Department of Transportation's website. Once in South Dakota you can dial 511 on your cell phone for road conditions including restrictions, conditions and weather reports.

By plane

The Mitchell Municipal Airport (5971 Hangar Road, +1 605 996-1228) is open to the public. The closest commercial airport is Joe Foss Field in Sioux Falls, serviced by United, Delta, and Allegiant Airlines. There are several rental car businesses available in Sioux Falls. Jefferson Bus Lines runs daily service between Sioux Falls and Mitchell, and between Rapid City and Mitchell.

Get around

Public transport
  • Palace Transit, (+1 605 995-8440, 7:30AM-4:30PM). Palace Transit serves Mitchell and nearby smaller communities by request.

See

Visitor information center

The information center is off Interstate 90, exit 332. The information center is open daily May 1 - September 30. Hours of operation: 8AM-6PM. Get free brochures, maps, directions, and advice.

Do
  • 🌍 Corn Palace, 604 North Main, ☏ +1-800-289-7469, toll-free: +1 605-995-8430. Memorial Day through Labor Day: 8AM-9PM Daily; Hours may vary during the Corn Palace Festival. April, May, September & October: 8AM-5PM daily; November March: 8AM-5PM M-F. The original palace was built in 1892 in order to display the fertility of South Dakota's soil. The current building is the third incarnation and was built in 1921. Each year a new mural designed by local artists related to life in South Dakota is created on the exterior of the palace. The murals are created from a lot of corn, grasses, grains, straw, oats, etc. Inside the palace there is a stage and arena for sporting events. Each year there is a Corn Palace Festival that takes place in front of the Corn Palace. Free. (updated Mar 2017)
  • Dakota Discovery Museum, 1300 McGovern Ave (Dakota Wesleyan University Campus), ☏ +1 605 996-2122. Learn about American Indian and Pioneer Life on the prairies of the Dakotas, visit the Oscar Howe Art Center, tour a one-room schoolhouse, a train depot, a country church, and the Italianate-style home of Louis Beckwith, co-founder of the Corn Palace. Also visit Discoveryland, a hands-on exhibit area sure to please the kids. 
  • 🌍 Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village, 3200 Indian Village Rd (north of the Corn Palace, follow the signs), ☏ +1 605 996-5473. April: M-F 9AM-4PM; May: daily 9AM-4PM; Memorial Weekend through Labor Day: daily 8AM-6PM; September: daily 9AM-4PM; October: M-F 9AM-4PM; November through March: by appointment only (weather permitting). The Boehnen Museum offers exhibits related to the thousand year old village. Included in the museum is a reconstructed lodge. Inside the museum is the "Shoppe Antiquary" which sells a variety of traditional, ceremonial, and contemporary Native American arts and crafts, and more. Outside the museum one can learn how to use and practice the atlatl spear thrower. Then follow the path to the Thomsen Center Archeodome which covers the on-going archeological dig. The dome also provides a teaching and research facility as well as some hands on activities upstairs. Adult $6; senior (60+) $5; student (6-18) $4; child 5 and under free. Group (10 or more people) rates available: adult $4 each; student $2 each. 
  • Carnegie Resource Center, 119 W. 3rd Ave, ☏ +1 605-996-3209. Discover the comprehensive collection of Mitchell historical information and Corn Palace memorabila, from the first year it was built, including signed photos by many of the famous performers at the Corn Palace. Enjoy the mural "Sun and Rain Clouds over Hills" by Oscar Howe, a Yanktonai Sioux artist who designed the murals for the Corn Palace from 1948-1971 and also taught school at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell. Free. 
  • McGovern Legacy Museum, 1201 McGovern Ave (On the Dakota Wesleyan University campus), ☏ +1 605-995-2937. Experience a unique journey through the lives of two of Dakota Wesleyan University's most recognizable graduates, former SD Senator George McGovern and Eleanor McGovern, from their young lives through World War II and George's political career, their family life, and George's current fight to end world hunger. 

Buy

Eat

Mitchell offers steakhouses, coffeehouses, bars, grills, doughnuts, ice cream, Chinese, Mexican, pizza, and fast food.

Drink

Mitchells Bar Scene is rather unique with a small town atmosphere. Many bars line main street for about six blocks.

Sleep

Go next
Routes through Mitchell
Rapid City ← Chamberlain ←  W  E  → Jct N S → Sioux Falls


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